The best grass horse goes for the money

ARCADIA, Calif. — If trainer Christophe Clement wanted to, he could have entered Gio Ponti in the Breeders’ Cup Turf race. The 4-year-old colt has dominated the U.S. grass scene this year, winning the four Grade I races, including the Arlington Million.

Clement, a fixture on the New York racing circuit, is putting Gio Ponti in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. Why not? It’s on the synthetic surface and that is supposed to favor turf runners, right?

“Of course, he has done so well on the grass and the question mark is the surface,” Clement said this week on the Santa Anita backstretch. “But, he has been able to overcome all year long and we have one more race to go. We have nothing to lose and can only gain by running in the Classic.”

In Gio Ponti’s last race, he finished second in the Turf Classic Invitational at soggy Belmont Park on Oct. 3. Clement said it was his fault the horse got beat that day. Heavy rain made the course soft and, Clement was thinking about scratching but, in the end, decided to give it a shot.

He made a mistake. Gio Ponti tired in the last 75 yards and was passed by hopeless longshot Interpataion.

Now, here is Clement rolling the dice again. There is obvious talent in Gio Ponti. He ran on the Pro-Ride surface here in February, finishing fifth in the Strub Stakes.

“He’s a very good horse, I am sure of that,” Clement said. “This is the best horse I have ever trained. I’m a lucky guy. I’ve had many, many good horses but I have never trained a champion.”

Gio Ponti is 12-1 on the morning line. I’m using him on my exotic tickets.